Chennaiyin faces Mumbai City in crunch Super Cup match

CHENNAI: Chennaiyin FC will be eager to seal a berth in the Super Cup semi-finals when it faces fellow Indian Super League outfit Mumbai City FC in its third and final Group D match at the Payyanad Stadium in Manjeri on Wednesday.

The unbeaten Chennaiyin is currently top of the group with four points from two matches while NorthEast United FC and Mumbai City are placed second and third respectively with three points each – all three teams are in contention to progress to the next round.

If the Thomas Brdaric-coached CFC wins against MCFC, which is playing with an all-Indian squad, the ‘Marina Machans’ will advance to the semi-finals. In case Chennaiyin draws with Mumbai City, it will have to rely on the result of the NorthEast-Churchill Brothers FC match, also scheduled on Wednesday, for qualification.

Chennaiyin, which defeated NEUFC 4-2 before sharing the spoils with Churchill in a goalless draw, will head into the match as favourite since it will have the services of its foreign players.

But, there is no clarity on the availability of attacking midfielder Nasser El Khayati, who missed the first two matches of the tournament with a niggle.

Speaking on the eve of the match, Brdaric said: “I expect a big challenge from Mumbai City. We have an advantage as we have four points, but we have to win and that will be the approach. We know how to deal with Mumbai City; we have played against it in the past. We need to prevent it from showing the qualities on the pitch.”